Fallen Arches
:This article is about the episode of ''The Venture Bros. For the condition of the human foot see flat feet.'' "Fallen Arches" is the eighth episode in the second season of The Venture Bros. Plot Dr. Orpheus recieves a recording from the Guild of Calamitous Intent informing him that he has at last been selected to receive their own arch-nemesis supervillain. Since the assignment is for Orpheus and his "team," however, he quickly sets about assembling one, calling upon old friends Jefferson Twilight and The Alchemist to reform their old adventuring group, the "Order of the Triad." Dr. Venture is showing off his newest invention, a walking robot camera eye, to Brock, Hank and Dean. Their reactions are mixed, but Venture does manage to get ideas for extra features to include in his marketing material from their comments. The show-and-make-up is interrupted by a security breach at the compound's front gate: Guild forces arriving to organize the screening for Dr. Orpheus' nemesis position, which is being held at the compound since the necromancer lives in a rented out wing of the complex. Meanwhile, Orpheus has located the first of his prospective team members: Jefferson Twilight, a Blade-esque sword-wielding African-American vampire hunter. Orpheus helps dispatch the "blackulas" Twilight is fighting and the two talk about old times. The original Order of the Triad had broken up about sixteen years previously when the members decided to pursue seperate careers. Twilight says he thought that Orpheus had gotten married, had a kid and was busy balancing good and evil in the universe or something like that, but Orpheus ruefully informs him that his wife has left him, his daughter has a driver's license, and balancing good and evil just doesn't have the "razzle-dazzle." Twilight eagerly agrees to join Orpheus' reformed adventuring company. In The Monarch's Cocoon hideout, #21 is trying to sell #24 on his plan to ditch The Monarch and strike out as an independent supervillain duo. He's forged a pair of Guild arch-villainy licenses. 24 is apalled by this and defends The Monarch's competence after 21 disparages it. Elsewhere in The Cocoon, The Monarch is with a prostitute who he has made to wear a wig resembling Dr. Girlfriend's hairdo and is trying to get her to talk in a satisfactorily deep voice. The Venture compound has been overrun with Guild operatives setting things up for the nemesis screening. Dr. Venture talks with Guild agents Watch and Ward, who speak admiringly about Venture's father, the original Dr. Venture. Thaddeus tells them to make sure their people stay away from his lab, as he has "some pretty impressive things going on there." Watch and Ward are less than overawed. Venture wonders aloud where Orpheus is, and the two Guild operatives say they think he's still engaged in gathering his team via astral projection. Venture laughs at finding out Orpheus was approved for a nemesis as a team, but Watch and Ward attribute this to jealousy. Orpheus' recruitment efforts are going well. He and Jefferson Twilight reach the lab of The Alchemist, the third member of the old Order. Twilight asks if The Alchemist is still looking for the Philosopher's Stone, and The Alchemist says that the stone is only a metaphor for enlightenment and he's actually working on a cure for AIDS. Twilight asks if The Alchemist is "still, um..." and waves his hand, to which The Alchemist initially responds that he is not as it was "just a phase," then says that of course he is. Orpheus is surprised that The Alchemist is interested in joining the reformed Triad, as it will put his noble work on hold, but The Alchemist says he needs the publicity, as "nothing gets the people in your corner like that hero crap." Plus, he needs the exercise. The three have a brief discussion about slimming fashion choices. Back at the Venture residence, Dr. Venture informs his sons (who have been confined to their room to prevent their getting in any trouble with the Guild opratives) that Orpheus has asked him to watch Triana for the day, and that he's delegating the responsibility of keeping her entertained to them. Dean wants to know if they need a script. Getting rid of Hank by telling him to go in the bathroom and treat his acne, Venture tries to have a "birds and bees" talk with Dean. It goes poorly, leaving the father exasperated and the son apalled and confused. At the Cocoon, #21 plays his trump card in his efforts to convince #24 to join his independent supervillainy scheme: A pair of jet-packs formerly belonging to a villain called Sergeant Hatred. This, combined with promises of cool leather uniforms, finally sways 24. In the master bedroom, The Monarch is bidding farewell to his hooker, who asks for directions back to Liberty Street. The Monarch launches into a convoluted, melodramatic speech about the road before her being "beset with many perils" and how the Cocoon will reward the righteous and punish the wicked, showing off a large Minotaur tatoo on his back and comparing the woman to Theseus. A trap door opens beneath the bed and the prostitute plunges down as The Monarch asks her how much she wants to live. At the Venture compound, the nemesis screening is under way. A long line of villains has assembled outside. One, an individual with fire-based abilities known as Torrid, exchanges small talk with another of the naer-do-wells and then walks away, saying that there's something he feels he must do. Inside, The Order of the Triad are interviewing the nemesis hopefuls individually. In the compound's living quarters, Hank walks into the restroom and surprises Torrid, who was sitting on the toilet. The villain vanishes in a column of flame, leaving a loathsomely offensive odor behind him. Hank doesn't see Torrid disappear and blames Dean for the smell. 21 and 24 are standing at the side of a road, having donned their new costumes, which have proved not to be leather as 21 had said. They are used jumpsuits taken from Family Double Dare complete with "gak" stains. 24 takes off with his jet pack -- setting his shoes on fire in the process. 21 is unable to do more than hover a couple of feet off the ground. Meanwhile, the nemesis auditions continue without much success, and Dean has enlisted Brock in his plans to entertain Triana, which consist of putting on a production of "Lady Windermere's Fan", complete with costumes. Hank is supposed to be changing into his costume, but the play comes to a halt when he demands that Dean come smell the incredible stench he has discovered in the bathroom. The prostitute flees through the bowels of the Cocoon, taunted by the voice of The Monarch via speakers all the while. Faced with a choice of several doors, she opens one and releases "the polar bear from Lost." Having escaped his role in Dean's theater project, Brock is working on Dr. Venture's robotic walking eye. They discuss Venture's plan to move the eye outside (it "needs air") and his failed attempt to give the facts of life to Dean. The boys are in the smelly bathroom. Dean blames Hank for the asphyixiating cloud, but his brother denies responsibility, saying that if he had in fact done it, he would have been "almost proud" and declaring that they have a mystery on their hands. Triana, annoyed that Hank and Dean have been in the bathroom for nearly an hour, enters and is also immediately aware of the smell. Dean thinks they should get Brock, but Hank is annoyed by Dean's wanting to involve an adult every time they have a mystery to solve. Outside, Dr. Venture begins washing off the walking eye. The line of waiting villains is immediately attracted to the attention-getting technological wonder. Back in the bathroom, the boys and Triana are trying to recreate the events that occured just before Hank entered the room and found the smell. Triana positions herself over the toilet on Hank's suggestion that he thinks someone was there and disappears in a flash of blue fire. Hank laments that he has killed Dean's girlfriend, and the twins discuss whether Triana was in fact Dean's girlfriend, which Hank said she probably was until he killed her. The Monarch's prostitute is inching on her back beneath a row of giant swinging axes, The Monarch still supplying running commentary on her plight from his shower. The nemesis screening is finally showing signs of promise as the Order interviews one "Lady Au Pair," Doctor Girlfriend in a different villainous identity. Jefferson is impressed by her looks, and Orpheus is impressed by her credentials, but can't shake the feeling he's seen her somewhere before. The interview goes downhill when Lady Au Pair speaks, her gravelly voice taking the Order aback. Jefferson asks if she smokes cigarettes or eats them and Lady Au Pair indignantly leaves. Hank and Dean are trying to decide what to do about Triana's vanishing. Dean suggests getting Dr. Orpheus, but Hank says they can't go to him for help because they're the ones responsible for his daughter's death. As they review their clues, Dean comes up with the bright idea of turning on the hot weater in the shower, where unbeknownst to them Torrid is hiding. Torrid disappears in a cloud of steam, and the steam reveals a message written on the bathroom mirror: "I'm in the torrid zone. Tell my father." In all this time, the two erstwhile Monarch henchmen have made no progess on their journey to greatness. 21, now wearing both jet-packs, has achieved greater altitude but is still unable to do more than flail helplessly in place. 24 suggests that they should just take the bus, but 21 asserts that "Jetboy and Jetgirl do not ride the bus!" 24 expresses his dislike for the names "Jetboy" and "Jetgirl," even if he does get to be "Jetboy", while 21 insists on using the name of the oft covered French song for the "indie cred" it will bring. The Order of the Triad are finally about to strike paydirt in their search for an arch-nemesis. Torrid interviews and tells Orpheus that he's kidnapped his daughter. Twilight and The Alchemist are suitably impressed, but Orpheus is furious. He lunges at Torrid as Alchemist and Twilight decide their search is at an end. Outside, the remaining villains are attacking Venture's walking eye. In the compound's kitchen, Venture proudly crows over having successfully upstaged Orpheus. Brock offers to save the eye, but Venture says Guild security is already shooting foam at the unruly villains. Besides, the contraption never really worked right anyway, but after word of this gets out, business will go way up. Brock heads outside to get a piece of the action anyway. As he exits, the Order and the Venture twins walk into the room. Dr. Venture asks how the nemesis search went, and they tell him that Torrid has been selected on the basis of his kidnapping Triana to the torrid zone, which is, as Orpheus reminds everyone, is merely the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, where he owns an island in the Great Barrier Reef. Dean becomes excited at the thought of Triana sunning herself in a bikini and rubbing oil on her skin. The Order of the Triad do their team symbol, and Venture tells them to get out of his kitchen. At the side of the road, 24 has given up on the entire independent villainy idea and put his Monarch henchman uniform back on. He tries to flag down a ride from a passing car, but it's being driven by The Monarch's prostitute, who slows down, sees 24's buttefly outfit, and speeds off in terror. 24 realizes as she recedes into the distance that it was his Nissan Stanza she was driving. 21 says he can't believe she got past the lake of acid. Trivia *The 'Walking Eye' robot that was created by Dr. Venture is based off the Jonny Quest episode, "The Robot Spy". A similar robot can also be seen in the opening credits of the first season of Venture Bros. * #21 says he got his arch-villian costumes from Family Double Dare. *Torrid appears to be a visual combination of Marvel's Blazing Skull and DC's Deadman. His accent is likely modeled after Marvel's Pyro. *Guild members Watch and Ward's names are said out loud in this episode for the first time in the series. *The Monarch's discourse and back tattoo of a Minotaur are direct parodies of the killer Francis Dolarhyde from the movie Red Dragon. The tatoo also appears to be fake, considering that it was apparently coming off in the shower. *Many of the arch-villain candidates seen in this episode can also be seen in "Tag Sale – You're It!". *The scene where Doctor Venture washes his Walking Eye robot to entice to Guild hopefuls is a direct reference to Cool Hand Luke, in which a busty blonde washes her car to tantalize the members of the chain gang. The final shot of this sequence parallels the final shot of the car wash scene, where the girl's large breasts are rubbing against the window of the car. *At the end of the episode Dr. Venture shows disdain when the Order of the Triad does a hand gesture similar to the Team Venture symbol (including giving off light). Dr.Venture has frequently shown disgust at his own boys love of using a hand symbol, and is the only one of Team Venture who never uses the symbol. *Jefferson Twilight is a pastiche of the Marvel superhero Blade and the blaxploitation movie protagonist, Shaft. *The play Dean is putting on for Triana Orpheus is Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. *The Rabbot from Aqua Teen Hunger Force can be heard in the background during the scene where Torrid is introduced. This could be a possible reference to the fact that Dana Snyder the voice of the Alchemist is also the voice of Master Shake on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. *The Monarch recites a paragraph from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" as the prostitute is making her way beneath the row of pendulum swinging axes. *Dr. Girlfriend applying to be the Order's arch-villain can be seen as ironic, since in "The Trial of the Monarch" Dr. Girlfriend almost unwillingly played a part in the hypnosis of Dr. Orpheus which allowed him to gain an arch-villain of his own. * The World Leaders Entertainment logo for this episode is a repeat of the Napoleon Bonaparte logo from Assassinanny 911. Category:The Venture Bros. episodes